A/N: Hi everyone, I just want to apologize for the delay. I started school a week ago, and I needed to start getting back into the swing of things. I want to give a big shout out to Sher Heartilly, dani2015, Suzerenma, Avril Lambert, Asuka Farron and my best friend disney-fr3ak for reviewing. Thanks a lot you guys, the positive reviews mean a lot! And to all my readers, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I want to thank all of you guys: readers or reviewers, you all make my day! Enjoy chapter 2…
Melody hopped in through her window, and let out a deep breath when her body hit the bed. She had run so fast, she wasn't even sure how she had gotten home so quickly. She stood up on her knees, and fixed her ponytail. She then placed a few loose strands behind her ear before letting out a sigh of relief.
She then got out of bed, and allowed her feet to touch the floor of her room. Melody quietly walked up to her bedroom door, and she was almost afraid to touch the knob. She placed her ear against the door, and nothing at all was heard. Melody took comfort in this by opening the door, and running into the kitchen.
"Melody, is that you dear? You're home late," Vanessa called out to her daughter as she tried picking herself up from the ground. The brunette's left eye was swollen, and her bottom lip was all bloody. She was aching in pain and could barely move from the ground.
Most children would've paniced at the sight of their mother in such a state, and condition. However Melody knew this scene all too well, she knew exactly what caused this horror. She noticed how her mother was wearing nothing but red lingerie.
"Oh mother what on Earth happened this time? I understand that father beat you again but why? I thought I left the house so you could do things in private, without having me over hear?" she questioned as she kneeled down at make eye contact with her mother.
"That's what happened but things took a turn for the worse not too long after. We took care of business four times, he wanted to keep on going. I refused because I was getting rather sore and my body needed rest. But he wanted to make sure it worked this time. I made the foolish mistake of refusing," Vanessa explained as she placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. She then picked herself up by pushing Melody down a bit.
Once Vanessa had regained her balance a bit, she smiled at her daughter. It was of course a faint smile but it was a smile nonetheless. Melody knew that her mother was trying to give her that false sense of security and comfort. Of course it didn't work, it never did but she knew that Vanessa liked to pretend it did.
"Why don't you go change while I start peeling the potatoes? I have a feeling we're going to make soup for supper, correct?" she inquired and her mother simply nodded at the question. She then watched as Vanessa ran to her room, and so Melody grabbed a bag of potatoes. She then grabbed a chair and a pot. She sat over the pot while she peeled the potatoes carefully.
"It's okay mother someday things will be better. Someday you'll be able to build up the courage, to leave father. I know you think we can't support each other on our own, but we can mom. We honestly can, and hopefully we will." Melody thought to herself as tears began to form in her eyes.
Jasmine kept on running until she found herself too exhausted to run anymore. However that didn't stop her one bit from continuing. She hid inside an alley, and ran deeper in it until she felt like she had lost Aladdin.
"I just need a moment to myself," she whispered as she leaned up against a well. She gently threw her head back, allowing her hair to touch the beige stone wall. She gently slid down until she was in the fetal position. As Jasmine hugged her legs in front of her chest she tried to choke back tears.
"Now, what is a pretty girl like you doing in an alley like this? You shouldn't be all alone especially in a dark alley," A man's voice called out from the darkness. The young girl simply ignored the comment, and rolled her eyes in disdain.
"Leave me alone! I'm in no mood to talk about anything," she told the stranger bitterly as she shook her head. She clenched her fists and softly started rocking back and forth. Jasmine was so exhausted from running that, she didn't have the energy to leave while she could.
"Well I'm sorry when I see a crying girl, the first thing I do is try to strike up a conversation. Obviously you're not the talkative type but that's alright. I'm not one for small talk either, but I wouldn't mind getting to know you better?" The man suggested as he took a single step out of the darkness.
"Listen buddy, I'm in no mood for tricks! Now come out of the shadows, and expose yourself to me. Or get out of my face!" Jasmine growled as she crossed her arms, and looked away for a moment. She tried not to scream so loud because she didn't want Aladdin to find her so easily.
"Alright, alright already there's no need to get feisty. I have to admit though that is a wonderful trait in a woman. Now will you please be kind enough to share your name?" The man questioned as he came out of the shadows. The first thing that caught Jasmine's attention was his gorgeous, baby blue eyes.
Jasmine had long black hair, wide brown eyes, and fairly tan skin. She wore large gold earrings, blue colored flat shoes. She also wore matching blue, baggy belly dancer pants with a matching top that revealed her navel.
"Jasmine Abdel-Hakim, but my friends call me Jasmine. Now that I've told you my name, I think it's your turn?" she questioned with a faint smile. She wasn't able to take her eyes off of his crystal blue ones; she found them to be hypnotic.
"My name is John Smith. It's nice to meet you Jasmine. I want to apologize because it seems as if we got off on the wrong foot," he apologized as he placed his hand out for her to shake. Jasmine picked herself up and shook his hand politely, staring deep into his eyes.
John Smith was rather muscular for he had a well-built physique. He had sunshine blond hair, and astonishing blue eyes. He wore brown pants, with a blue navy colored vest.
"That's alright, I was being rude and you were simply being friendly. It was my fault completely, to be honest with you. I was getting angry at the wrong person. I must look and sound like a child right now," she apologized as she looked down at her feet. She felt as her cheeks turned a hot red, making her bite her lip in shame.
"It's alright Jasmine, I know more than anyone that we all have our moments. When you get angry at someone, your emotions usually get the best of you. Believe me I grew up with two sisters. I know more than anyone," he chuckled as he approached her carefully. He studied the girl for a moment, and decided he was fond of her beauty.
Jasmine giggled a bit at his answer, "Well then I suppose I should be on my way. My boyfriend is probably worried sick about me, and I let my emotions get the best of me."
John fought back a frown when he heard the word 'boyfriend'. He then mentally scolded himself for not assuming someone like Jasmine, was taken. After all someone as beautiful as her, would've easily been swept off her feet by the first genuine guy that came along.
"I see- well I too better be on my way. I promised my sisters that I'd meet them by the market place. We're going food shopping today, and I wouldn't want to keep them waiting. They are both rather impatient," he sighed as he started making his way out of the alley.
"It was nice meeting you!" She called out as she waved goodbye, before turning in the opposite direction. She ran deeper into the alley until she was finally out, and she nearly screamed when she felt someone grab her arm and then pull her back in.
Jasmine felt her body begin to tremble, but felt relieved when she realized it was Aladdin who had pulled her in. Her features began to soften but a knot formed in her stomach when she saw how angry he looked. She noticed how his eyes were narrowed, and his brow furrowed.
"Jasmine, what on Earth were you thinking? You can't just run off like that, you can't just ditch me out of the blue. You had me worried sick because you had left crying, and then I started panicking when I couldn't find you. Jasmine, do you realize how reckless that was?" Aladdin shouted as he shook his head. He had been so concerned about her, and so confused as to why she was crying.
"I'm sorry Aladdin, you're right I shouldn't have acted the way I did. And I shouldn't have done what I did, next time I'll just stay. I'm sorry that I upset you," she apologized in a rather bored tone. She leaned up against the wall, and allowed her body to slowly slide down. Soon she was sitting on the ground with a saddened expression.
Aladdin sighed as he sat down beside her. He placed his hand on top of hers, and gave her a faint smile. He gently squeezed her hand, and noticed how tears started forming in her eyes. Without any hesitation she wrapped her arms around his neck, and sobbed into his purple vest.
"Aladdin I don't like what we have to do just to survive. I don't like being poor, I don't like stealing, and I most certainly don't enjoy being looked down upon in society. I wish we could just be like normal people and get jobs," she cried as she quietly sobbed into his clothes.
Aladdin Taylor had messy black hair, light brown eyes, and rather light tanned skin. He was slightly muscular, and had abs. He wore a purple vest, with white trousers with light brown patch sewn onto it, and atop his head he wore a crimson colored fez hat.
"I know Jasmine, and I know exactly where you're coming from. But you know that many jobs aren't available at the moment. And besides Hercules and I don't have time for jobs, we got to keep an eye out for Meg and you. Also no, I'm not saying that you girls aren't capable of taking care of yourselves. I'm just saying that you girls are a lot safer with us around," he told her almost as if he could already picture her counter argument.
She crossed her arms in disappointment for she knew very well, that he was right. However she also knew the other reason both of them couldn't get jobs. Jasmine knew that Aladdin didn't tell her that the economy hasn't been the best in Corona, because that reason only makes sound matter worse.
"You know, I have high hopes for the new princess and prince. All these years, the King and Queen have been depressed because they lost their daughter. That's why the kingdom hasn't been as good as it used to be. But now she's back, and hopefully things can go back to normal. Perhaps we could even start shopping?" She suggested as she beamed at the thought.
Aladdin gave her a bright smile as he stood up, "Hopefully the princess and her prince will make things better. And shopping for food instead of stealing sounds like a dream, let's hope it eventually comes true."
"It does sound lovely, doesn't it? And it will become a reality; I have no doubt about that!" Jasmine cheered as she took his hand, and picked herself up. Once she was up she quickly followed him out of the alley, and back into the center of Town.
"Come on Jasmine let's head home," he sighed as he grabbed her hand and headed towards the hideout. They carefully made their way down the streets, making sure not to make too much eye contact with the guards.
Rapunzel felt as the tip of her fingers touched the binding of the books, and her eyes scanned them all. She was in the castle library, catching up on a bunch of reading. She loved all the different novels that the one room contained, but she could never decide on which one to read and when to read it.
"Which one do you like Pascal?" She asked the small chameleon who was resting on her shoulder. She looked around the room, and gasped in awe at how the whole entire room was just made up of shelves which were filled with novels.
The brunette looked down at her friend, and he simply shrugged at all the choices. She looked back up at the shelves, and found herself puzzled. She read all the different titles, but remembered how her momma had told her not to judge a book by its cover. Rapunzel picked out a red colored book, which was tilted 'Into the Woods'.
"Sounds interesting enough," she thought aloud as she walked over to the purple cushioned loveseat. She opened the book, and cleared her throat before she started reading.
"Once upon a time, in a far off kingdom lived a fair maiden, a sad young lad, and a childless baker with his wife. And the-"Rapunzel stopped mid sentence by the sound of someone knocking. She closed the novel, and looked over at the door with a content smile on her face.
"What are you reading there blondie?" Eugene questioned as he walked over to her. He picked up her legs, and sat under them. He then placed her legs on his lap, making her a giggle for some odd reason.
"I was trying to read this wonderful book called Into the Woods, but then you decided to interrupt me. But that's okay Eugene because I felt kind of guilty reading this book," she confessed innocently. She got back up and placed the book back, and sat back down looking ashamed.
"Guilty? Blondie it's just a book, there's no reason for you to feel shameful. Why are you guilty again?" He inquired not really understanding his wife's sudden shame for simply trying to read a story.
Rapunzel sighed and explained, "I just feel like I'm being really wasteful and almost ungrateful. I mean there are so many books in the library, and I can't even make up my mind to pick one. Back in the tower I only had three books, and I read and finished those books all in the same day. Same things go with the dresses. In the tower I only had one dress, and I wore it every single day. Now I have more than I can count, and I don't know how on Earth I'm going to put all of them to use."
He chuckled as he placed his hand on top of hers, "Blondie that's why we have balls and celebrations for. Now that you've returned home, we're going to bring much joy to the kingdom. I promise you that we'll throw a celebration every week just so you could try on a new dress."
Rapunzel's face suddenly lit up like the evening star, "Oh do you really mean that? Oh Eugene that would be amazing! That way none of my dresses would go to waste, and I'd be able to decide which one were my favorites. Thank you so much Eugene!"
She wrapped her arms around her neck, and he chuckled at her sudden action. She had caught him off guard, but almost out of instinct he had wrapped his arms around her waist. Rapunzel giggled as she felt Pascal slide off her arm, and quickly scurry out of the room. Once she saw how her friend was gone, she too let go of her husband and got up from the loveseat.
"And where are you going now?" Eugene questioned as he followed her out of the room.
"I'm going to go meet momma in her garden. She said we were going to have lunch there, and besides I really want to have some bonding time. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" she suggested and he simply nodded at her question.
"See you later blondie, I hope you have fun bonding with your mom. Good luck," he told her and she simply nodded. Rapunzel placed a quick kiss on his lips, and then she found herself racing down the hallway.
"I love you…" he whispered as he turned in the opposite direction, and headed towards his bedroom. He wanted to go look at Corona from his balcony. He truly did enjoy the view from their bedroom.
"That was amazing," Hercules whispered as he fell on his back. His face was red as a tomato, and he was sweating as if he had been exercising for hours.
Meg found herself blushing, before she replied "I have to tell you Herc, making love to you is something else."
He gave her a cocky smile before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and wished that he could see her bare body. However Meg had quickly covered herself with the sheets.
"You know, they'll probably be back soon. We're both sweaty and red so I think I'm going to go take a shower," Meg told him as she tried escaping from his tight grasp.
He gave her a look and he simply replied in a sing-song voice, "What are the magic words?"
"I love you," she replied with a smile before placing a delicate kiss on his lips. She felt as he let go, and so she immediately jumped out of bed. She walked over to her wardrobe, and grabbed a bath robe which she had stolen from the market place.
Megara Egan was very petite with angular features. She had fair skin, voluminous long brownish-red hair, and remarkable purple eyes. The type of eyes that once you see, you can't forget because of how unique the color is.
Hercules on the other hand was extremely muscular; he had large biceps, and well-built abs. He had fiery red hair, sky blue eyes, and light tan skin. He wore shiny gold armor, with brown sandals, and a red headband around his forehead. Of course all of his clothes had been stolen from the market place, but luckily for him it not only fit but suited him nicely.
"Don't waste all the hot water Meg. The last thing I want to do is go retrieve more from the well. It isn't exactly the shortest of walks from here to the well," he reminded her as he let out a tired yawn. He rested his head on the pillow, and suddenly found himself to be rather tired.
"Why don't you just get water from the fountain?" Meg called out as she placed her hand on the handle of the bathroom door. She turned it, and gently pushed the door open easily.
"Because then Jasmine and you complain how the water is too cold. Believe me it's better to just use the water from the well, and to not use up all of it at once. I can only fill so many buckets, and we're lucky that we they're pretty big buckets. So use them wisely," he yawned as he twisted and turned in bed.
"Got it, don't worry about me!" She called back as she picked up a bucket of water, and dumped it in the tub. She then grabbed another bucket, and only dumped half of it in the tub. Meg then turned around, closed the door and then made sure to locket it.
She let out a sad sigh as she allowed her robe to simply fall off her shoulders, and then on to the floor. She then dipped one of her toes in the water, and smiled when she felt how warm the water is. Before she knew it, she was sitting in the tub, enjoying her alone time to herself.
"I love them all but I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I need my alone time. It's not like I'm asking for too much now," she mumbled to herself as she rested her had back on the wall. She felt as the warm water soothed her body, almost as if it were taking the weight of the world off her shoulders.
Before she knew it, Meg was so relaxed she found herself falling to sleep. It had started with her just closing her eyes to calm herself, but after a few minutes she had let out a tired yawn. As more timed pass she was soon fast asleep, and suddenly all her worry's and troubles started haunting her dreams. Because no matter how hard she tried, all her troubles were constantly in the back of her head.
Megara found herself racing down the path, everything was so foggy and she couldn't see a thing. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, and she her lungs were actually starting to hurt.
"She's coming for me. I just know she's coming for me," she whispered to herself as she continued to dash down the path. She looked on her left but all she saw was fog, and on the right she saw the same thing.
"Megara please wait! Megara I head a warning, you must listen dear!" The feminine voice cried out but Meg didn't dare stop. She didn't know who was chasing her, or what they wanted but she just knew she had to run,
"Leave me alone!" she screamed back as she quickly went of the path, by taking a right, turn. Megara pushed through the fog, expecting it to be thick as a wall but it was soft as a cloud. Since she had put so much force into it, she had actually fallen to the ground.
Meg looked up and realized she could no longer hear the voice. For a moment she took comfort in this, she didn't like the feeling of being chased. And she had no idea where she was, or what she was doing here. Wherever here may be that is?
She picked herself up from the ground, and wiped the dirt off her purple dress. She turned on heel, and felt her jaw drop when she realized where she was. Megara took a few steps back, and felt her body begin to tremble in fear a bit.
"Cemetery," she breathed as she bit her lower lip. Meg remained frozen for a few minutes, unsure what to do or what to even say for that matter. She had only visited a graveyard once and it had been many, many years ago.
"I need to get the hell out of here. There's no way I'm staying here! I need to get home, I need to find Jasmine. I need to make sure she's safe," she whispered to herself as she started jogging this time.
She was too out of breath to continue running, and she was too scared to just casually walk. So jogging didn't seem like such a bad idea at the moment. Besides Meg allowed a sense of security to come over her since there was no longer someone following her?
"Where is home from here?" Meg thought aloud as she looked around curiously. Everything around here just looked like a bunch of tombstones, and in the distance all she could see was fog. It was simply rows and rows of tombstones, which all led towards the foggy unknown.
"Megara please stop! I can't run anymore, I am too out of breath to chase you. I beg you child, please do not leave me here. Please child, do head my warning?" The feminine voice asked, as it slowly approached Meg.
She felt her body begin to tense up, and so she turned on heel to face the figure. To her surprise it was no one else but her deceased mother standing there. Meg's jaw dropped once more, and she immediately hugged herself for comfort.
"Ma' is that really you?" she questioned as tears started forming in her eyes. She could feel her whole body begin to tremble, she wanted to start sobbing right there and then. It had been years since she had seen her mother.
Megara's mother had messy red hair, emerald green eyes, and rosy pink lips. She wore an olive colored dress with a green blouse, and black bow on the back of her head.
"Yes child it is me, now come over here and give your mother a hug. I know how much you've missed me, and I know that it's been far too long. Now hug me before he gets here," Rosemary told her daughter as she opened her arms. Meg quickly ran up to her mother, and wrapped her arms around her mom's neck.
Rosemary wrapped her arms around Meg's bed and whispered, "It's alright sweetie, I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you, and no one is going to take you from me."
"Ma' I've missed you so much. It's been so hard without you, but Jas and I are doing well. I've taken good care of her just like you asked. And I've met this amazing man named Hercules. Ma' I think he may be-" she was cut off by the sound of her mother gasping. Meg suddenly felt a shiver go up her spine, when she felt her mother pull away.
"Oh my goodness, where is Jasmine?" Rosemary questioned frantically as she eyed the cemetery. She fiddled with her fingers as she searched for her stepdaughter.
She looked up at Meg, and began to panic "Megara where is your stepsister? It's not safe for her to be out here, all alone with no one watching her. Megara where is she? Tell me where she is, you promised you'd take good care of her!"
Meg as well began to grow frantic "Ma' I don't think she came with me. She's at home probably, she's with her boyfriend Aladdin. He protects her and loves her very much, there's nothing to worry about."
"No! I didn't ask you to find her a boyfriend to protect her, I asked you to take care of her! You've failed Megara, you have failed your dead mother and for this reason I disown you. Go find another mother's heart to break, because you sure as hell aren't going to break mine!" Rosemary growled as she snapped her fingers, and suddenly a small pond appeared on their right side. The water was dark as night, and seemed very murky.
"But ma' we've both fallen in love with these wonderful men. Hercules cares for me dearly, and Aladdin treats Jasmine as if she's royalty. They are both so sincere, and treat us like we're princesses even though we have nothing. Ma' you need to understand we're happy," she reason but her mother simply shook her head in disdain.
"No Megara that is not what I asked of you. I told you to take care of your stepsister! I didn't ask you to go around and play matchmaker, you disgusting brat. And for this you will pay, from here on out I disown you!" Rosemary exclaimed, and suddenly two huge blue hands popped out of the water. They had yellow fingernails, and they nearly made Megara scream in terror.
"Ma' what the heck, are those things? What do you they want?" Meg questioned as she watched hands grab her mother, and then take her down under the water. She gasped at the sight of her mother suddenly being taken down like that.
"Ma' wait come back!" she cried as she approached the pond, and kneeled down on the edge. All she could see was her reflection, and the bright moon behind her. She gently placed her hand in the water, and felt how warm it is.
"Warm? How the hell can it be warm if it's freezing outside?" Meg thought aloud as she took her hand out. She studied her hand for a moment, and then let out an extremely loud blood curdling scream. She noticed how her hand was completely covered in red, ruby blood.
Before she could do anything else, a normal sized hand popped out of the water. It clenched on to her wrist, and dug it's extremely sharp and yellow colored fingernails into her delicate scream. Without any hesitation the hand pulled her down under, making everything around Meg go black.
"Jasmine, you can't leave me!" Meg screamed as she felt herself slipping under the water. She quickly picked herself up, and found herself crashing back into reality.
"It was just a dream? How can that even be? It was all so real. The blood, the screaming, the hands, and the physical and emotional pain… it was real. I know it was," Meg told herself as she sat back down. She first looked at her wrist, and she was thankful to god that there were no marks. She then looked her right hand, and let out a sigh of relief when she realized that there was no blood.
"And I guess the only reason there was a pond, was because I was taking a bath. I had started drowning in my nightmare, because I had started slipping under water in the tub. There's nothing to worry about," she thought to herself and suddenly she remembered another part of her nightmare. She recalled her mother screaming and shouting at her, she even remembered her mother disowning her.
Meg clenched her fists before talking to herself through gritted teeth, "I haven't done anything wrong. She wanted me to take care of Jas, and so far that's exactly what I've done. It's not my fault that we're both, falling in love."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Meg nearly fell backwards when she heard the noise, because she was a little jumpy from the previous nightmare. However she quickly caught herself, and jumped out of the bathtub.
Hercules cleared his throat, and then spoke up "Meg is everything okay in there? I thought I heard you screaming, and it woke me up."
"Dammit," she muttered under her breath as she wrapped a towel around her body. She hated looking like a whiny, damsel in distress. She was in no mood to play victim, and on top of that she felt embarrassed because she had caused such a fuss over a little nightmare.
Meg wrapped a towel around her hair, and called out to Hercules "No Herc, everything is fine with me. I heard the scream too, I'm assuming it came from outside. I'm sure it's nothing though."
"Alright if you say so, then I guess we have nothing to worry about. Anyways I wanted to know if you were coming out soon, because I need to take a bath too. Al and Jasmine are probably going to be back soon, and I don't want to make things even more obvious than they already are," he explained as he knocked on the door again. He could hear Meg muttering and mumbling under her breath but decided to ignore it. Hercules had a feeling that the scream hadn't come from outside, but decided to play along because he didn't want to start problems with Meg.
"Done," she told him bluntly as she opened the door. She had her hands on her hips and an annoyed look on her face. Meg made her way out of the bathroom, and into the bathroom. She slammed the door, so confused by what just happened.
"Alright then," he flinched when he heard the door being slammed. Hercules entered the bathroom, gently closing the door behind him.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" Meg muttered as she paced around the room nervously. She fiddled with her fingers as she shook her head at every theory that came to mind.
She let out a sad sigh before sitting down on the edge of the bed, "I miss you ma'…"
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2! Again I am so sorry for the delay, it's just that I started school and I needed to get back into the swing of things. Feel free to tell me if you spot any mistakes so I can edit and fix. Also I am always opened to constructive criticism just please don't be rude about it. As far as the line breakers go, I have added them and I'm really hoping they stay. Last time I added the line breakers but when I posted the chapter, they just weren't there and that kind of bugged me. Anyways until next chapter everyone, thanks for reading...